~ Omniscient Pov ~
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'Am I not... Am I not dead?' Javier opened his eyes, his vision swimming as the world came into focus. The air was thick with the acrid smell of smoke and burning metal, but something was... off. The chaos of the battlefield had gone eerily silent, replaced by a low, resonant hum that seemed to vibrate through his very bones.
He blinked, trying to clear his head, and that's when he saw it—a faint, crimson glow; an orb of sorts surrounding him and the few remaining members of his squad. It was like a cocoon of energy, pulsing gently, almost alive... The red light cast long, jagged shadows across the ruined floors.
Javier's hand instinctively went to his rifle, but it was gone, lost somewhere in the rubble. He turned his head, wincing at the sharp pain in his side, and saw Torres lying a few feet away. The rookie was unconscious but breathing, his chest rising and falling steadily. Beyond him, the rest of the squad—At least, what was left of them—were sprawled on the ground, their bodies bathed in the same red light.
"Wha-What the hell...?" Javier muttered, his voice a bit hoarse. He tried to sit up, but the energy around him seemed to resist, pressing gently against his movements like an invisible hand.
That's when he noticed the figure floating right above them all, with only one of their arms outstretched... silhouetted against the flickering flames, was a stranger. They weren't tall, and their form obscured by a long, tattered trench-coat that seemed to ripple unnaturally, as if caught in a wind that didn't even exist...
From what he could tell, their face was hidden behind a mask—smooth, featureless, and gleaming faintly in the light. The mask gave no hint of emotions, no indication of who or what they even were.
Javier's instincts screamed at him to move, to fight, but his body wouldn't obey. He was frozen, not by fear, but by the sheer presence of the stranger. Being as experienced as he was, even he could tell something wasn't normal about whatever the being Infront of him was...
The stranger tilted their head slightly, as if studying Javier and his squad; and then with their other available arm, coupled with a smooth yet unnatural motion, flicked their finger upwards. The red energy that was around Javier and his squad flared brighter, and suddenly, the pain in his side began to fade. His wounds—cuts, bruises, the deep gash in his leg—seemed to knit themselves together, the skin stitching back as if time itself were reversing for them...
'Just what in the hell am I even seeing here?' Javier thought. What else could he do?
He wasn't sure what to make of the situation. Whoever this was, just saved him and his squad's life and even healed them to on top of it to boot.
He stared at the stranger, his mind racing a mile a second at this point. The red energy around him pulsed, like a heartbeat, and the warmth it radiated was almost comforting—if it weren't so unnervingly crimson... He glanced down at his side again, where the deep gash had been moments ago. Now? The skin looked smooth, unbroken, as if the wound had never even existed. Even the ache in his muscles was gone; instead he felt as if he was a few years younger...
Torres groaned, stirring beside him. The rookie's eyes fluttered open, and he blinked up at the glow surrounding the team. "J-Javier...?" he mumbled, his voice weak but tinged with more so having confusion. "What's... what's going on?"
"I... I don't Know Torres..." That was his best response at the moment.
Boom~!
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The sound hit them like a punch to the chest—a sharp, ear-splitting crack that made the world go silent for a split second. Javier flinched, his hands flying to his ears, but it was over before he could even process it. When he looked up, the stranger was gone. Just... gone.
The red glow that had surrounded them had faded right after too, leaving the squad in the dim, uneven light of the burning base. The air felt heavier now, like the aftermath of a literal storm. Javier blinked, his head still ringing, and glanced around. Torres was sitting up, his face pale, his eyes wide and darting like he'd just seen a ghost...
"Javier," Torres said, his voice shaky. "What the hell was that? Did you see—?"
"Yeah," Javier cut him off, his voice rough. "I saw it."
Torres stared at him, waiting for more, but Javier didn't have anything else to say. His mind was still catching up, still trying to make sense of what had just happened. The figure in the mask, the way they'd floated like gravity didn't apply to them, the way they'd healed his wounds with a flick of their finger...
The rest of the squad was starting to stir now, groaning as they pushed themselves up. Some of them looked around, confused, while others just sat there, staring at nothing. One of them—a guy named Harris—was muttering under his breath, something about "freaky alien crap." Javier couldn't blame him...
"Javier," Torres said again, his voice louder this time. "We can't just sit here. What if they come back? What if—"
"I doubt they're coming back." Javier snapped, sharper than he meant to. He didn't know why he said it—maybe to shut Torres up, maybe to convince himself. One thing was for sure, the man was damn tired for the night...
He took out his Comm, using Carter's frequency... Hoping it still worked after what it went through
"Carter! Do you read me?" He could hear a bit of static on the opposite end, meaning it wasn't totally gone.
Soon, enough, there was a response, "Javier!? How are you still-"
"I don't know. I can explain when you send help for us... Me and the boys are in a tight spot..."
"... Alright, I'll send em' right away."
That was the last thing Javier heard before he dropped his Comm. Now, he was just wondering who or what could have just saved his and his squad's life.
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END